Humphrey v. Byron

“In Young v. Garwacki, 380 Mass. 162 (1980), we held that, even in the absence of an express agreement to keep rented premises in repair, a lessor of residential premises had a duty to exercise reasonable care to assure that others legitimately on the leased premises were not subject to an unreasonable risk of harm. If such a lessor knew or should have known of a defect, the lessor would be hable for injuries resulting from the lessor’s negligent maintenance of areas rented to the lessee.” Chausse v. Coz, 405 Mass. 264, 266 (1989). In imposing this duty on residential landlords, we explicitly…